Authorities said the assault lasted for 10 minutes. The victim suffered cuts and bruises on his face. His jaw, ribs and lower back were also severely swollen.

"During the beating, the defendant in the case, Mr. Arnold, threatened to burn him alive in a furnace. He was threatening to kill him," said Clark County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Jeremy Mull.

Mull says it all started when Arnold drove to the victim's house last week and asked for help moving some firewood.

Court records said the victim, a 38-year-old man from New Albany, used to date Arnold's cousin.

The probable cause affidavit said the two ended up on the 1300 block of Emery Crossing in Clarksville.

"Mr. Arnold had taken him to a garage and surrounded him with another group of men, and at least Mr. Arnold was beating him pretty viciously with this 2-by-4," said Mull.

Investigators said the group of four or five other men also prevented him from leaving the garage during the beating.

They said the beating lasted for 10 minutes, until the shop owner heard the commotion and walked in.

"Ultimately some of the men who were present at that location wanted it to stop. The beating was so severe that they intervened and demanded that they stop," said Mull.

Court documents said during the assault, Arnold accused the victim of physically hurting his cousin.

That woman, who dated the victim for four years, told WLKY that it never happened.

Mull said the victim is lucky to be alive.

"I think with being surrounded by a group of guys, getting beaten with a 2-by-4 and the talk of being burned alive in a furnace, I think he's very lucky some of the individuals there stepped forward and put a stop to it before it went any further," said Mull.

The victim has been released from the hospital.

Arnold is being held on a $75,000 full cash bond.

If convicted, he could face 50 years in prison.

Arnold has denied going to the garage in Clarksville. He also has a pending case for misdemeanor battery in Floyd County.

Mull said the other people involved in the beating could also be charged.

Hillary Clinton's office said "nothing nefarious was at play" when the former secretary of state used her personal email address, rather than one provided by the State Department, during her four years as America's top diplomat.